Open Grave Subtitled Every Step of the Way
by fly-away-free
Summary: [OneShot] At Sirius' funeral, Harry and Tonks make a startling realization and come to terms with their grief. PreHBP. R&R Please!


Harry shuffled his feet. The collar was uncomfortably tight on his neck. Not that that was all which was bothering him. It just was easier to think about these immediately fixable problems, to consume yourself in the unimportant and irrelevant to hide the soul that was aching with grief.

The drone of the preacher's voice was grating into his head, like Professor Binns during a double block of History of Magic.

"… leaves a large circle of friends and family to mourn and grieve. Always a well loved man, an amazing friend and son. His family was proud of him and likewise his friends, proud to know him."

Harry felt some of the all too familiar anger begin to rise in his mind like water into a sinking ship, rushing and flooding quickly and out of control. He was positively shaking with the effort to keep his emotions inside. He stared at all the strangers that had come to watch the funeral, out of curiosity for this famous criminal. To stare and wonder at him in death, when in life they wouldn't have given him the time of day.

His _true_ friends were all in the back of the church. All the important ministry officials and people with their staring eyes were all at the front. People that didn't even know Sirius were crying. Harry hated them more than ever. More than he had thought humanly possible to hate. He couldn't take this anymore.

So Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived, the boy who had endured more than anyone, suffered at the hands of the press, couldn't sit through a funeral because he had finally cracked. The death of his godfather had killed his soul, and he just didn't care anymore. Hermione made a move to stop him, but Remus put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let him go," he whispered, "he wouldn't have left if he didn't need to."

Hermione understood, and Harry felt a rush of gratitude towards the both of them.

He walked by Tonks, sitting there, quietly, her hair limp, and mousy brown, her eyes had none of their sparkle. She was just sitting there, silent tears streaming down her face. Mrs. Weasley tried to put an arm around her, but Tonks just sat there, cold, unreceptive, immobile.

Harry winced. He knew how she felt. Totally alone, completely isolated by her pain. She had loved him too- he was her big cousin, and had known him all his life. Suddenly Harry felt like reaching out and comforting her. So he walked over, quietly, and put a hand on Tonks' shoulder. She turned her tear-streaked face and her red eyes towards him, and gulped.

He wasn't sure how she would react. But in his heart he knew that this was the right thing to do. He motioned with his head towards the door. Tonks nodded, and Harry felt his heart lift slightly. She understood. He knew she would.

Once outside, Tonks burst into loud tears, falling over and sitting on the grass, with her hands in her face. Just sobbing. Harry could feel his eyes brimming over with tears, and just sat watching this poor woman cry her eyes out about her dead cousin.

After a few minutes, Tonks lifted her head and offered a sad smile at Harry.

"I-I'm-m s-sorry you h-have to s-see me l-like this…" She gulped, taking in huge breaths of air between every few words.

Harry stroked her hair. "I know, Tonks, I know. I'm sorry that any of this had to happen. I'm sorry I was such a noble prat. By rights you should hate me."

She pushed his hand away violently. "It's n-_not_ your fault! D-don't you ever t-take responsibility for this! Hate you! Oh, Harry…"

She broke into sobs again, and Harry pulled her close and rested his head on her shoulders. He looked out across the grass, ruffled slightly by the breeze. It was a beautiful summer's day. Too beautiful for what was going on.

Finally, after a long while, Tonks pulled away.

"Thank you for being here, with me, Harry… thank you for letting me know that no matter what happens, I can talk to you and you will understand." She sniffed.

The tears that were brimming at Harry's eyes spilled over.

"You can always talk to me. Everyone else… they liked him, too, they miss him, too. But no one else as much as us. No one else will miss him as badly as we do. I know that, at the end of all things, I'll still miss him. They're still be a place in my heart that aches. But most of all, you know what?" he lifted her face up to his, "I'm glad you're here with me."

She smiled through her tears. A weak, watery smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Every step of the way."

"Every step," Harry confirmed, before drawing her closer and holding her tight.

* * *

A/N:Didja like it? Didja not like it? REVIEW PLEASE!

I didn't like it much, personally, I just had this urge to write it... anyways... enjoy!

And a note to Ky: this isn't the story that I was telling you that's really good that I'm working on.I wrote this on a break. D


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